继一些欧洲公司试行了四天工作制，引发诸多打工人羡慕之后，没想到希腊居然反其道而行之，在近日宣布让部分企业开始实行六天工作制。这一举动引起了极大争议。希腊政府究竟是出于什么考虑，“六天工作制”具体又要怎样实施？让我们一起来看看吧。
Source：Pixabay
今天的外刊节选自CNBC，共计536词，预计阅读时间5分钟。
通过这次的外刊，你将收获：
○关于劳动和法律的专业表达
○长难句的拆解
希望你在阅读全文后能够回答以下问题：
○希腊为什么要实行六天工作制？
○六天工作制是针对哪些人群设计的？
○希腊内部对此持有哪些观点？
外刊解析
Greece becomes first EU country to introduce a six-day working week
Key Points
- The regulation, which came into force on July 1, bucks a global trend of companies exploring whether to embrace a shorter working week.
- The pro-business government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reportedly said the measure is both “worker-friendly” and “deeply growth-orientated.”
- Labor unions and political analysts have sharply criticized the move.
Greece has controversially introduced a six-day working week for some businesses in a bid to boost productivity and employment in the southern European country.
The regulation, which came into force on July 1, bucks a global trend of companies exploring a shorter working week.
Source：Pixabay
Under the new legislation, which was passed as part of a broader set of labor laws last year, employees of private businesses that provide round-the-clock services will reportedly have the option of working an additional two hours per day or an extra eight-hour shift.
The change means a traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48 hours per week for some businesses. Food service and tourism workers are not included in the six-day working week initiative.
The pro-business government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said the measure is both “worker-friendly” and “deeply growth-orientated.” It is designed to support employees not being sufficiently compensated for overtime work and to help crack down on the problem of undeclared labor.
Source：Pixabay
Labor unions and political observers have sharply criticized the move.
A spokesperson for Greece’s embassy in London was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.
Giorgos Katsambekis, a lecturer in European and international politics at the U.K.’s Loughborough University, described the Greek government’s introduction of the labor law as “a major step back” for a workforce that is already working the longest hours in the European Union.
Workers in Greece work more than those in the U.S., Japan and others in the 27-member EU, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Greek employees were found to have worked an average of 1,886 hours in 2022, more than the U.S. average of 1,811 and the EU average of 1,571.
Source：Pixabay
“Greek people already work the longest hours per week in Europe. Now they may be forced to work a sixth day, after this Greek [government] decision,” John O’Brennan, professor of EU Law from Maynooth University, Ireland, said via social media platform X on Monday.
“It is ridiculous, set against the move to four day weeks in most civilised countries,” he added.
A report published by think tank Autonomy earlier this year found that most companies involved in the world’s largest trial of a four-day working week had made the policy permanent.
Source：Pixabay
All the consulted project managers and CEOs of the companies involved in the trial said a four-day working week had a positive effect on their organization, with more than half describing the impact as “very positive.”
The report found, however, that staff — in firms where the additional day off was only weakly guaranteed, or provided on the condition of meeting certain targets — had some concerns.
Source: CNBC
Author: Sam Meredith
Date: July 2nd, 2024
生词拓展：
1. buck
英音/bʌk/ 美音/bʌk/
[V] If you buck something, you oppose or resist it. 反对；抵制
例句：
He was known to buck authority whenever possible.
他总是尽可能地反对权威。
2. bid
英音/bɪd/ 美音/bɪd/
[V] If you bid for something, you try to obtain it or achieve it. 竞标；努力争取
例句：
They bid for the contract but didn't win.
他们竞标了这份合同但没有成功。
3. legislation
英音/ˌledʒɪsˈleɪʃn/ 美音/ˌledʒɪsˈleɪʃn/
[N] Legislation refers to laws, considered collectively. 法律；立法
例句：
New legislation was introduced to protect the environment.
新的立法是为了保护环境。
4. shift
英音/ʃɪft/ 美音/ʃɪft/
[V] If you shift something, you move it or change its position. 移动；转变
例句：
She shifted the chair closer to the table.
她把椅子移得离桌子更近。
5. ridiculous
英音/rɪˈdɪkjələs/ 美音/rɪˈdɪkjələs/
[ADJ] If something is ridiculous, it is very silly or unreasonable. 荒谬的；可笑的
例句：
The idea was so ridiculous that everyone laughed.
这个想法太荒谬了，大家都笑了。
知识卡：
哪些国家支持一周工作四天？
四天工作制探索的先行者是冰岛。冰岛政府2015年到2019年推行四天工作制试验，将每周工作时间从40小时减少到35-36小时，同时薪酬不减。冰岛官方称，试验取得“压倒性成功”，如今有86%的冰岛人每周工作35小时，且朝着每周四天工作制的方向转变。
2022年，比利时成为第一个立法允许劳动者每周工作四天的欧洲国家。在新劳动法的框架下，人们可以选择每天工作10小时，用4天时间完成40小时的工作。
2022年6月，英国有非营利组织联合智库、大学等机构启动为期半年的社会实验，共有61家企业近3000名员工参与，涵盖市场营销、广告、金融、数字制造和食品零售等多个行业。
（见往期文章：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/73XefEdk6bDZBXvxoIBhXQ ）
实验采用“100-80-100”模型，即员工在保持100%生产力的同时，工作时间减少至80%，但依旧享有100%的薪酬。结果显示，与实验前相比，员工的疲惫程度降低了71%，压力减轻了39%。企业员工表示“周三疲劳”和“周日焦虑”两项压力显著减轻，能更好照顾家人、自我进修、锻炼身体，进而改善心理健康和工作—生活平衡。
（来源：广州日报）
Source：Pixabay
重难点解析：
1. Greece has controversially introduced a six-day working week for some businesses in a bid to boost productivity and employment in the southern European country.
译文：
为了推动生产、促进就业，希腊这个南欧国家开始在一些企业实行每周6天的工作制，此举一出，引发热议。
解析：
“Bid”本身有“竞标”的意思，名词则还有“努力尝试”的含义，用在这里，贴切地形容了希腊政府的强烈决心。“ controversially introduced”精简了用词，通过一个副词传达了这一举动引发社会争议的现象，保留了信息量的同时让句子更加简洁有力，值得我们学习。
2. It is designed to support employees not being sufficiently compensated for overtime work and to help crack down on the problem of undeclared labor.
译文：
此举意在支持加班劳动却没有得到相应补偿的员工，同时打击雇佣黑工的乱象。
解析：
本句话中，“to support employees”和“to help crack down...”是并列的，表示这一工作制设计的目的。“Employees not being sufficiently compensated...”中使用了后置定语，补充说明employee的具体情况；“crack down”表示“严厉打击”“采取强硬措施”，是强制程度比较高的“采取行动”；“undeclared labor”表示“未上报的劳动”，结合上下文理解就是打黑工。
3. Greek employees were found to have worked an average of 1,886 hours in 2022, more than the U.S. average of 1,811 and the EU average of 1,571.
译文：
据统计，2022年，希腊的员工平均工作时长为1886小时，比美国的1811小时和欧盟平均值1571小时都要高。
解析：
本句话中涉及到了数据的对比，使用an/someone's average of+数字的形式表示“平均数是xx”，比起用the average time of workers in （某国家）进行排比，这句话中运用了worked an average of进行串连，在对比数据大小时更为方便直接。
今天的外刊内容到这里就结束了~
对于希腊的“六天工作制”，你有什么看法？欢迎在评论区讨论！
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